The summer of 2021 unveiled something genuinely exciting in the horror landscape: Leigh Janiak’s Fear Street trilogy. Here was a cinematic endeavor that understood the assignment, delivering an ambitious, interconnected saga that dug into the bones of R.L. Stine’s pulpy paperback source material. Janiak spun a compelling mythos that tied together eras with surprising narrative sophistication, and her films boasted characters you actually rooted for alongside the requisite gore-streaked kills. It was a refreshing jolt that proved streaming horror could think big, so when news of a return to Shadyside surfaced, I was all-in (I even predicted as much in my review for the original trilogy’s last installment). Could this new chapter build on that inventive groundwork and perhaps even expand the cursed town’s grim legacy?
Well, not so much.
Instead of the sharp, genre-savvy continuation fans such as myself were likely hoping for, Fear Street: Prom Queen feels like a strange misstep, a movie that not only fails to inherit the inventive energy of its predecessors but actively shies away from what made them so compelling. It’s a blood-soaked affair, to be sure — director Matt Palmer relies on practical effects to deliver the film’s grossest gags — but one that sheds copious amounts of disappointment right alongside the red stuff. Whereas Janiak’s trilogy felt uniquely substantial, a testament to thoughtful world-building, this new entry lands with the thinness of a direct-to-video afterthought, leaving you wondering if Palmer (who co-wrote the script, a very loose adaptation of the 1992 novel) truly understands its own DNA.
The most glaring issue is Prom Queen‘s almost complete disengagement from the very franchise it claims to be a part of. Despite taking place in 1988, nestled squarely within the established timeline of the previous trilogy, the film makes almost zero effort to meaningfully integrate with Shadyside’s intricate lore. The pervasive curse of Sarah Fier, so central to the original films’ identity, is effectively sidelined, and the long-standing animosity between the nearby town of Sunnyvale is only briefly mentioned in passing. What remains are fleeting, almost reluctant nods to past calamities, a creative decision that transforms what should have been a rich narrative expansion into a largely standalone slasher that benefits little from its Fear Street title.
Beyond its questionable franchise ties, the film’s narrative struggles to build any sort of momentum. It’s a fairly conventional dance through well-worn slasher tropes, completely devoid of the clever twists or meta-commentary that elevated Janiak’s work. Dialogue feels clunky, and attempts at building suspense frequently unravel due to a lack of genuine tension, echoing the less inspired B-movies it vaguely references. Prom Queen‘s primary function seems to be herding a fresh crop of teenagers toward their grisly fates, and to that end the pacing often feels rushed, hurrying through character introductions and relationships with little room for investment.
Fina Strazza delivers a gleefully sharp performance as the archetypal mean girl Tiffany Falconer, and Katherine Waterston — seemingly the only person who understood what film she was in — goes full camp as Tiffany’s haughty mother, but elsewhere the script’s reliance on broad caricatures (the handsome jock, the pot dealer, the queen bee’s lackeys) evoke a lack of creative inspiration. Even Lori Granger (India Fowler), our ostensible protagonist, remains frustratingly two-dimensional, and her misguided quest for social validation through a prom queen crown doesn’t feel truly fleshed out. We learn about her, but we don’t feel her, making her struggle to survive less compelling than it should be. The film flirts with intriguing interpersonal dynamics, such as the implied affection between Lori and her Fangoria-reading horror aficionado best friend Megan (Red Rocket‘s Suzanna Son), but these threads are introduced only to be quickly abandoned.
Fear Street: Prom Queen serves as yet another entry in a long series of disappointing reminders that a successful franchise name alone doesn’t guarantee a compelling film — or even a mildly entertaining one. For those who were truly captivated by the innovative spirit of the original trilogy, this return to Shadyside is a letdown, proving that even a blood-soaked prom night can feel curiously dull when the heart of the story isn’t beating with fresh ideas.